BJP objects to CBI dir appointment

ANIL ANAND

New Delhi, Nov 23: In yet another controversy kick-started by BJP, the appointment of the new CBI director has landed in the troubled waters after its leaders knocked at the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s doors seeking to keep the decision to appoint the ITBP chief Ranjit Sinha to the post in abeyance. The protest lodged by Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley through a letter, coincides with the tabling of the Select Committee report on Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha recommending that the CBI director should be appointed by a collegium. It should comprise of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India, the recommendation states. Even while the Government and the BJP led opposition were locked in a fierce battle over the shape of the controversial Bill, the two leaders further added to the controversy by invoking the panel report’s spirit in the matter of CBI chief’s appointment. They have sought that the appointment of Bihar cadre Indian Police Service officer of 1974 batch Sinha be kept at abeyance for the time being and have questioned the government's motive to appoint him just before tabling of the Select Committee's report in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. However, the charge was sharply rebutted by the Congress. The party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said, "The Select Committee's report is a recommendation. It is not an Act right now. The CBI director is retiring and appointment of a new director is regular process. Appointment cannot wait for a recommendation to be passed in the House. The way the BJP is disrupting the House proceedings, it cannot be said when the report will be passed." The Select Committee's report was tabled in Rajya Sabha amidst much furore over FDI and SC/ST Quota Bill. Amongst others, the Lokpal Bill recommends delinking the creation of state Lokayuktas from the Lokpal Bill and bringing the Prime Minister's Office under its purview except on matters relating to internal and external security, atomic energy, international relations and public order.

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